Wednesday, April 16, 2008

“In a democracy, I realize you don't need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels," he said over the weekend, responding to a question from an Israeli journalist who noted that Mr. Carter had been snubbed by most of Israel's top leadership and reprimanded by its president, Shimon Peres. "When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that's the dictator, because he speaks for all the people."

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

This is the fourth part of this series. Pervious entries can be found here (1,2,3).

Like most of you, I was surprised to even see Alan Keyes at the Des Moines Republican debate back in December, and additionally surprised to learn he was running for president. Well, seeing how his campaign for the Republican nomination didn’t play out as he had hoped (just like the rest of his electoral campaigns), he has decided to be defeated in another electoral quest, this time with the Constitutional Party at his side. Keyes looks like the kid from your neighborhood that kept coming around to hang out, but never caught on that you were always “busy.” .” They just didn’t pick up the hint that no one wanted them around. Watching Keyes flail about almost makes me feel sorry for him, and then I remember what this man stands for.

So should I find it surprising that Keyes is gunning for the Christianist Constitution Party? Another go at the White House will allow him to bring back some of his old hits, like Obama isn’t black enough. He must have not received the memo: this year it’s all about him being a Muslim. Keyes need just make a few rhetorical changes, and all his old arguments can be rehashed. Alan has 8 reasons why he won’t support John McCain as well.

Poor old Berkeley: it wants so badly to distance itself from the United States that it tries to act as a sovereign state, granting itself powers that a city of its size outside of the Bay Area would never dream of embracing. Unfortunately for the tax paying portions of the Berkeley populace, their city’s foreign policy costs them roughly 1 million dollars a year. From the San Francisco Gate:

“Berkeley is finding that having its own foreign policy isn't cheap. The city's recent dustup with the U.S. Marine Corps has so far cost the city more than $200,000, while businesses say they've been slammed by related protests.

And that's on top of the $1 million the city spends annually on domestic and foreign policy matters hatched by its 45 citizen commissions, which outnumber those in virtually every other city in America and debate everything from regime change in Iran to the plight of nonneutered dogs.

45 commissions to address issues the city council has absolutely no say or business in? What an absolute disgrace.

"We in Berkeley have one of the top universities in the world, which brings in people from more than 100 countries. Delving into foreign policy is unavoidable," said Mike Sherman, a longtime member of the Peace and Justice Commission”

No Mike, it is not “unavoidable.” In fact, it’s rather easy to avoid seeing how it’s not the city’s job to pass resolutions on things like the War on Terror or the plight of Mongolian mongoose. Having a good university in town doesn’t give the City Council the right or the ability to become a sovereign state. But the most important point that should be drilled home to someone like Mike Sherman is the one made by City Councilman Gordon Wozniak:

“I think it's out of hand," Wozniak said of Berkeley's commissions, most of which meet monthly and have two or three subcommittees that also meet regularly. "When we spend a lot of time debating things like the Marines issue, we're not spending time on the serious problems in this city, like fire station closures. It's easier to tackle international issues than deal with messy local problems."

I know it’s asking a lot from Berkeley, but for the love of all that is holy, get your collective heads out of your collective asses.

About Me

Born of parents both recently and distantly American, I was once an activist and advocate for the socialist left. Nowadays, I am a defender of the "Responsibility to Protect" who stands for universal rights and liberty.
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